1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to air and water heat exchange systems, and more particularly to a building heat exchange system for selectively warming the air and/or heating water for use in a structure, such as a building or a household, as in a bathroom, or in another room or location.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many areas of the world have relatively warm climates, at least seasonally, and a significant amount of the world population lives in such areas. While such areas typically include the Middle East and North Africa, generally speaking the land areas from about thirty to forty degrees north of the equator to about thirty to forty degrees south of the equator are relatively warm, at least during large portions of the year, and also include, for example, the American southwest, as well as many other areas of the world.
While persons living in areas that are reasonably advanced technically can have access to such amenities as hot water for bathing, washing, and other purposes, it will be seen that the energy required to heat water can be reduced considerably through proper design and engineering in warmer areas of the world. Merely installing a water tank or reservoir on a rooftop or other area where it is subjected to the heat of the sun, can provide sufficient hot water for a structure, such as a building, a household or other facility, during warmer parts of the year throughout much of the world. In fact, it is possible to use a relatively small amount of energy, such as gas or electricity, for heating water in certain climates and seasons of the year, as solar heating can provide a relatively large part of the heat required for such purposes.
However, the relatively large amount of solar heating available in warmer climates can also produce uncomfortably high temperatures in structure interiors, such as in a building or a household, at least during the warmer seasons of the year. An approach to address a need for heated water and relatively cool interior air has been to expend energy in heating the water and in air conditioning to cool the air in the interior of a structure during warmer seasons of the year, and then to expend more energy to heat the water but also to warm the interior air during cooler times of the year.
Accordingly, a number of systems have been developed in attempts to reduce energy consumption and to provide greater year round comfort in households and other facilities. An example of such is found in Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-86456 published on Apr. 2, 1996 to Fujitsu General Ltd. This reference describes a heating system using hot water from an exterior heater, with the hot water passing through a water-to-air heat exchanger within the building structure. The system includes automatic water shutoffs in the event that the interior heat exchanger is tipped over.
Another example system is found in Chinese Patent Publication No. 1657840 published on Aug. 24, 2005 to Zhao Honghai. This reference describes a combination heater unit for simultaneously heating water and warming the air in a bathroom.
Thus, a household heat exchange system addressing the aforementioned problems is desired.